The Story of A Prince
by Lov3the3vil
Summary: [AU] When Prince Ratchet of Vox leaves his planet without his father's knowledge, the captain of the Starship Pheonix is sent to track him. Sasha thought it'd be easy, but Ratchet has a way of surprising people...
1. Leaving Home

Disclaimer: Don't own any of it. Except for Anastasia and Klunc, they're my own creations.

Summary: The prince of an imperial planet wants nothing more than to live his life outside of politics. Sasha wants nothing more than to meet the lombax of her dreams and not have to worry about him dying on her while she's on duty. When Prince Ratchet of Vox leaves his planet without his father's knowledge and Sasha is sent to track him down, both of their wishes might be granted.

_Thoughts _**Change in time/place **"Speech" (Author Notes)

**Your feature presentation brought to you by Pyro Productions.**

_The Story of A Prince  
_Chapter 1 - Leaving Home

"Father, why do _I_ have to be your heir? Why can't it be Anastasia? She _enjoys_ the political stuff, gods only know why," The lombax who spoke wore black khakis and a black t-shirt that fit snugly to his athletic figure, a crimson overshirt was worn over it unbuttoned. He wore a pair of steel toed workboots that had small oil and grease stains on the leather. Behind him his lion-like tail twitched in agitation.

"Because you're the oldest, Ratchet, you're first in line for the throne! You cannot just dismiss that fact and push away your responsibility!" Ratchet's father was a tall lombax, towering over the 17 year old. Orange fur with black stripes covered his body. His crimson cloak hung over the side of his chair's armrest, his black overshirt covered a red t-shirt and his black pants came down just below the tongue of a pair of armored boots.

Ratchet's green eyes narrowed and his large gold and orange ears flattened against his head, "Oh, I can't, huh?" The challenge in his voice clear to everyone in hearing distance.

His father hesitated but continued, "No...no, you can't."

Ratchet bared his white canines and snarled, "_Watch me_," And he stormed out of the throne room. The large ornate doors opening effortlessly under his strength and slamming mightily in defiance.

His father sat on his throne suddenly feeling very small, "I think I may have made a mistake..."

* * *

**Another Part of The Castle**

"Hmph, I'll show him," Ratchet muttered to himself as he stormed through the stone hallways of his home, "_Can't push away your responisibility!_" He mocked his father, "Well I'll show you what I can and can't do."

He scoffed as he opened the door to his bedroom before slamming it shut. The guards that stood outside of it flinching at the loud cursing coming from within the room.

He grabbed a duffel bag from his closet and started grabbing an assortment of clothes from his drawers, "I will not be a part of this stupid political scam anymore. They can all just kiss my ass," He paused in his packing and faced the door before shouting, "YOU HEAR THAT OLD MAN? YOU CAN ALL JUST KISS MY FURRY ASS!"

"Gah!" He yelled in frustration. He finished packing and zipped the bag closed. He opened the door and left the room before returning a minute later to grab a black 6-foot pole with ornate silver designs and slinging it onto his back by a leather strap.

With his bo staff and his duffel bag, he left for his best friend's garage.

* * *

**Throne Room**

While Ratchet made his way towards his best friend's garage his father was facing the most dangerous thing n the planet. His wife.

"How many times have I told you to stop badgering the poor boy, Magnus?"

"516, Lidia."

Lidia was about two feet shorter than her husband, but held just as much influence. Looking at her you can see that Ratchet got much more from his mother than he did his father. Her fur was yellow and had dark orange stripes on it, her green eyes were narrowed dangerously at her husband as he was overcome with a sense of deja vu. Ratchet's mechanical abilities came from his mother, if the grease stains on her jeans and shirt were any indication. His strength and lethal prowess was from his father.

"So, you can keep track of how many times I tell you something, but you can't remember _what_ it was that I told you not to do!" And he'd also gotten her temper.

Magnus cowered in his chair and hoped to high heaven that he wouldn't die for accidently chasing off their son. He stayed cowering in his chair and listened to his wife rant and rave about how not to chase off their children. And just when he thought it couldn't get any worse, Anastasia, Ratchet's younger sister by two months, walked in.

"Father, where is Ratchet?"

Lidia turned to her and gave a forced smile, "He's not here, dear, your father chased him off..._again_."

Magnus hung his head as he was now not only berated by his wife, but by his daughter too. _Ratchet, come back...save me...

* * *

**Angela's Garage**_

"Angela!" Ratchet yelled, walking into the building.

Their was a clang and a long string of curses not fit to be mentioned, "Damn it, Ratchet must you do that everytime you stop...by..." She trailed off as she saw the duffel bag slung onto his shoulder, "Geez, you goin' somewhere?"

"Yeah, I'm leaving this stupid planet for a few years," Ratchet said, "Teach that no good father of mine to not underestimate my rebellious nature."

Angela laughed, "Sure, but how are you going to get off this 'stupid' planet?"

Ratchet gave her one of those this-is-a-serious-question-isn't-it? looks. A small robot walked out from underneath one of the smaller starships in the garage.

"I believe he wanted to take one of _your_ starships, Angela," It said.

Angela gave it a disbelieving stare while Ratchet smiled, "Thanks for clearing that up, Clank."

"You are welcome."

"So," Ratchet began with an innocent smile, "You gonna let me take one of your starships? I promise I'll return it in a decade or two."

"Why use one of mine? You're loaded, use one of your own," Angela replied.

"Cuz they tag their ships, Angela," Another, smaller, robot came out of her office. (Think of one of those tiny mindless robots that Clank controls, only it isn't mindless.)

"And besides, I'd use the one I built," Ratchet reasoned. She gave him a hard look but cracked when he gave her his best puppy dog eyes.

Angela sighed, knowing she wasn't gonna win the argument, "Fine. But you're taking Clank with you, I want to be able to keep in touch."

"And you shall keep Klunc with you," Clank said as he walked into the office, "You will need another robot to recieve and send the transmissions."

"Yes!" He ran up to her and gathered her up in a hug, "Thank you, Angela, thank you! I swear you won't regret this!" He smiled and ran up to one of the medium sized starships, completely ignoring the blush that decorated Angela's cheeks. The starship's color was Bogon Blue and was designed to be both durable and fast. Ratchet ran a hand across its sleek surface before sighing happily, "Well, I'm finally going to see the galaxy..."

He opened the cockpit and jumped in, he waited for Clank to grab a few of his things before closing the glass top. He smiled and waved at Angela as Clank jumped into the cockpit and buckled himself in.

"Thanks again, Angela," The cockpit started closing, "You're the greatest friend a guy could have," With a quiet hiss the cockpit closed and Angela waved at Ratchet. Knowing he couldn't hear her, she spoke, "Yeah...a friend..."

A minute later the starship was flying off into the sky and Angela watched it disappear into space.

"A friend...is all I'll ever be...despite wanting to be so much more, Ratchet."

**To Be Continued...**

Reviews welcome. Flames will be used to fight off lawyers.

-Lov3the3vil

_"I see," Said the blind man to the deaf man over the phone._


	2. Unimportant Epiphanies Are Unimportant

DISCLAIMER: I own a copy each of two of the Ratchet & Clank games, the character Anastasia and the absent-minded midget-bot that is Klunc. But I don't own anything else outside the plot.

_Thoughts _**Change in Time/Place **"Speech" (Author's Notes)

**Feature presentation brought to you by Pyro Productions.**

_The Story of A Prince  
_Chapter 2 - Unimportant Epiphanies Are Unimportant

Ratchet sighed in relief as the ship exited Vox's atmosphere and entered the large black expanse that was space. He typed in a couple commands into the computer and then leaned back as the autopilot took over.

"Ratchet, what is our destination?" Clank asked. He was adjusting the seat belt so it wouldn't smother him.

"We're heading to Metropolis. I have a friend there who said he'd house me if I ever needed a place to stay while I was on the planet," Ratchet replied, he swiveled his seat so he could rummage through the built in mini-fridge behind him. He removed an orange colored can, "Want one?"

Clank declined and Ratchet shrugged, "Suit yourself," and a quiet "ka-psshh" sounded as he opened the can. After a couple gulps he spoke again, "Why do you ask?"

"I was simply wondering," Clank paused, "Did you know we only have a quarter of fuel in the tank, Ratchet?"

Ratchet blinked as he swiveled again and peered at the gauge that kept track of the fuel. His ears lowered as his posture slumped slightly, "Crap. We'll never make it to Metropolis without at least a half tank of fuel..."

"What will you do?"

Ratchet gave Clank one of those is-that-a-rhetorical-question? looks and said, "I don't know. You're the one with a computer for a brain. What do you suggest?"

"I suggest we find the nearest planet under the Galactic President's command and-"

"Woah, woah, _woah_! Hold on a second!"

"What is it?"

"We can't go anywhere in the GP's circle of command, Clank, my mom probably has my father by the ear and had him call in the GP to help search for me already," Ratchet explained.

"But Metropolis is in the Galactic President's "circle", as you put it," Clank said.

Ratchet paused, "It _is_ isn't it...what am I gonna do...?"

"Go to the nearest planet with fuel on it and, if it is within the Galactic President's circle, keep a low profile," Clank suggested, "That would be the wisest course of action, Ratchet, by my calculations. And my calculations are never wrong."

Ratchet gave Clank a blank stare, "Right. Computer for brains. Not much room for error there, buddy."

"Do not mock me. I am made of metal. A bitch slap would hurt you more than me, Ratchet."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Ratchet said dismissively, but truth be told he was a bit nervous, he'd been bitch slapped before. By Angela and it had hurt, he couldn't begin to imagine how much more it would hurt if _Clank_, of all people, robots, whatever, bitch slapped him...

He shook his head and got to work on finding a planet within less than two days time from their current position. He'd come up with two possibilities a minute later, Deftone and Campagna 4. Deftone was 3 hours away, but Campagna 4 was almost two days away, just missing two days by a mere hour. The only thing that made this decision hard was that Campagna 4 had fuel on it, ready to use fuel, as opposed to Deftone that also had fuel, but the fuel needed to be diluted, lest it eat away at the engine.

Ratchet turned to Clank, who was playing Jak2 on a display that was attached somewhere within his chest cavity, "Clank, two planets came up, but I need your help deciding," He slid the holo-screen he was using towards Clank, "But first thing's first, do we have the materials needed to dilute raw fuel?"

Clank stared at the stats of both planets for a few moments, "We do not have the needed materials, however, Deftone has both raw fuel and the materials needed to dilute the raw fuel."

Ratchet watched as Clank paused, almost in hesitation, "I'm feeling a "but" here..."

"...But..."

"I knew it! There's always a catch!"

"All but one of the materials you need for diluting are easily found," Clank continued on, ignoring Ratchet's outburst, "The one you cannot easily find is an extract from a rare plant that can only be found during midnight where both of Deftone's moons are eclipsed. It occurs once every 3 months, luckily we are 7 days away from the next eclipse."

Ratchet blinked, "Ok, so what makes this hard?"

"It is pitch black when this happens. There is not one iota of natural light given."

"Need night-vision goggles. Got'cha. I have those."

"The eclipse only lasts 5 minutes before the plant's flower closes."

"Need to run. I'm a fast runner. I can do that."

Clank sighed, he knew he was going to regret this next one, "The flower generally grows near the nest of a Rhapson, a very dangerous reptile native to the planet yet hard to find, as it dwells deep in caves and many who've found the nest are eaten shortly thereafter."

Ratchet nodded slowly, "Alright, dangerous animal with lots of teeth and a taste for fleshy and/or furry things," He paused before pumping his fist in the air, "Score!"

Clank knew he wasn't going to regret this last bit, "I must mention that the flower grows in the Rhapson's...refuse, which is near its nest."

Ratchet blinks, "I have to wade through shit for this flower?" Clank nodded, "After killing a vicious reptile out to eat me? Within 5 minutes?" Two more nods. There was a pause before Ratchet hung his head, "Damn it."

Clank chuckled lightly, the way Ratchet's mind worked always amused him. He cleared his metallic throat, "Shall I set a course for Deftone while you wallow in misery?"

Ratchet chugged the rest of soda and looked out at the stars for a moment before turning back to Clank and narrowing his eyes, "I _hate_ you, always ruining my fun by adding little details that probably would've entertained you more had you told me moments after my fun is finished, but no-o..."

Clank tuned out the rest of Ratchet's rant as he returned his attention to the console in front of him, "I will take that as a "yes"."

* * *

**3 Days Later/ Vox Royal Palace**

"My king, I present to you the Galactic President, David." (C'mon, he named his daghter Sasha, he had to have a normal name to match! But if any of you can tell me his actual name from the game, I'll change it.)

The Galactic President walked through the double doors and into the audience chamber where all three royals sat. King Magnus sat in the middle, between his wife, Lidia and Anastasia. The throne beside Anastasia was empty, Ratchet not there to occupy it. His throne was gold and was taller than Lidia, Ratchet, and Anastasia's, the three other thrones were silver in color and all four had a dark red satin covering on the seats. The throne arm rests had lion heads carved into them and ornate designs covered everything else, the artistic chaos creating a seeming flow of pictures that was meant to captivate the observer.

The floor was made of a marble that was a swirl of dark and light gray, black speckles flowing throughout the stones. A dark red carpet with silver and gold trimming sat in the center of the hall, making a walkway from the double doors to the thrones. The pillars that lined the hall, a few meters from the carpet on both sides, was made of the same stone as the floor, the same designs that made the doors ornate were carved into the stone. (I like the word "ornate", can ya tell? ;) )

"And the Galactic President's daughter, Captain of the Starship Phoenix, Sasha," Sasha walked in step with her father, looking refined in her Starship uniform.

Magnus nodded in acknowledgment and the slightly pudgy lombax who had announced the guests exited the hall, the doors shutting behind him. Lidia smiled at David in greeting while Magnus gave a small smile for his old friend and Anastasia held an unreadable mask.

"Welcome, old friend, how are you this fine day?" Magnus asked.

"I am well, Magnus, but we've no time for formalities if the message you sent me is any indication. What have you called me for?" David asked.

"Right down to business, as usual, David," Magnus said, "I've called you for a favor. It seems my eldest child has run off-"

"You mean you _ran him off_," Lidia cut in with a pointed glare at her husband; Magnus withered under her gaze.

"Y-yes," Magnus winced at the cold look his daughter gave him and sighed, "Ratchet and I got into an argument and I, unfortunately, questioned his rebelliousness."

"Which is a big no-no," Anastasia said offhandedly, "Slighting my brother's rebelliousness is akin to insulting a drunkard in a bar late at night, things are bound to go downhill from there."

"I see..." David said.

"So, what have you called my father for? And why am I needed?" Sasha spoke up for the first time since getting there.

"I have called your father for old time's sake, to catch up on things past. I have called _you_," Magnus said, "To ask if you would go and find my son, apprehend him, and bring him home."

Before Sasha could say anything Lidia spoke up again, "Please, Sasha, I fear my husband has tested Ratchet's patience once too many times and he will stay off Vox until he is too homesick to stay away anymore."

"If you're sure he'll return, why not wait?" Sasha asked.

"Because we are not sure and my brother is stubborn, Ms. Sasha," Anastasia replied, "It will be many years before he returns, if he chooses to return at all."

Sasha nodded slowly, "But why me? Why not someone else?"

"You are more than qualified for this mission, Sasha," Her father said, "But most importantly it is because of your link to Ratchet."

Sasha blinked in confusion, "Link? What link?"

"You didn't tell her, David?" Magnus questioned.

"Not yet, I was waiting for the right time, Magnus," David explained, "But I suppose now is a good a time as any," He turned back to Sasha, "Sasha, Ratchet is to be your fiance."

Sasha stared in shock at her father, "Fiance?"

Magnus nodded, proud of his and David's decision to unite their families through their children. He looked curiously at his wife, to gauge her reaction, and when he saw her angry visage he gulped.

"I suppose you conveniently forgot to mention this to your wife, didn't you?" Lidia said with an even voice, though if looks could kill Magnus would've been a simmering puddle of _something_ on the floor.

"I,uh...I,uh...um...uh..." Magnus intelligently explained. He paused for a second before turning to his daughter, "I'm in trouble aren't I?"

"You think so? I would have never guessed, Father," Anastasia said sarcastically. She would've been angry at him for setting her brother up with a total stranger, but she was sure her mother would punish him enough for the both of them. _And I'm slightly grateful it was him and not me, I'm not sure if I'd ever forgive Father if he engaged me to a complete stranger._

Magnus turned in his seat and ran his hand over his face with a heavy sigh, "I am _so_ going to regret this..."

"Oh, that's a promise, Magnus," Lidia hissed. Her ears were now pressed flat against her head and she was unconsciously baring her teeth.

David gulped and slowly backed away from the thrones, "I think it's time I retired for the night. I'll, um...just go find the guest room," David turned and ran...face first into the door. He shook his head as he sat up and tried again, this time opening the door first.

Sasha stood where she was, still in shock, "Fiance?"

Anastasia took pity on the shellshocked Sasha and got up from her seat to go over to Sasha. She waved her hand in front of Sasha's face a few times before she got her attention. Sasha gave her a curious look.

"It's about to get ugly over there," She gestured towards the throne where Lidia was now literally hissing at a cowering Magnus. The only reason she hadn't jumped him yet was because there were still people in the room, "Why don't I show you around a bit before you go to the guest room?"

"Uh, sure..." Sasha said. Still half out of it. _A fiance? How could Daddy do this to me?_

**To Be Continued...**

Reviews welcome. Flames will be used to threaten Gamestop stores for free video games.

-Lov3the3vil

_"You're insane!" He shouted in exasperation.  
__"That has yet to be proven in a court of law!" A pause, "Granted, I skipped town the day of my trial..."  
__"...I can never tell if you're joking when you do that."_


End file.
